PAIGE JOHNSON | THE SPECTRUMGarcía is surrounded by rocky mountains, which house García’s most popular tourist attraction, las Grutas de García.

An hour outside of Monterrey, Mexico exists the town of García. Best known for las Grutas de García, the town itself has plenty for travelers to do either as a separate trip altogether or in addition to visiting the caves.

One such attraction is Museo El Ojo, a museum that houses different art pieces and artifacts from around the country in the historical house of one of García’s oldest families. The building itself is as much a part of the museum as the artifact. Like most historical homes in Mexico, the individual rooms surround a larger courtyard. Out back is a large yard surrounded by cacti.

“Ojo,” in Spanish, literally means, “eye.” However, the meaning of “ojo” in this context is different: “ojo” means the opening of the well, which can be found in the museum’s courtyard.

At the center of town is a public gathering space. Surrounding this courtyard is the Museum of the Ex-Municipal Palace. There’s also the Church of Saint John Baptist.

PAIGE JOHNSON | THE SPECTRUMEl Museo del Ojo is an art museum that is in the house of one of García’s oldest families, complete with a full courtyard and spacious backyard.

The church was founded in 1808 and exemplifies colonial style: columns, arches, a large bell tower and cream-colored walls highlighted by yellow.

By far one of the most popular and favorite places in García is the traditional panadería, el Panero a la Leña.

The panadería looks as if it’s a normal house along the street. However, the biggest difference is the line of people that comes and goes daily. Penro a la Leña is unique because it bakes all its breads in a traditional stone oven.

The space is cramped and very warm from the oven, and visitors have to wait to get to the back of the panadería and get their bread, but it is all well worth the wait. According to the owner, residents of García love the bread because the taste is better than the store-bought breads.

And Panero a la Leña has plenty of variety too: Las Conchas; las empanandas filled with pumpkin, apple and strawberry; las orejas; Las Galletas and more. No matter how out of the way Panero de la Leña might be from the main portion of García, it is worth finding.

With history and delicious bread, García is a worthwhile venture outside of Monterrey proper.